Until it moved the town planning and building control functions to Hove Town Hall, Brighton Council maintained an archive of building plans of pre-1946 buildings.
Hove lost its archive when the Town Hall burnt down.
The Brighton archive was a valuable resource for building owners, architects, builders, students and historians.
The plans could be viewed on a microfiche reader and copies bought by members of the public.
It was a source of income for the council. Home-owners could see what their home was originally intended to look like, who built it, what alterations had been made, what restoration measures were required - even elusive drains could be traced.
As access to the archive is a "non-statutory requirement", it is now denied to the public.
If you care about free access to information and about the conservation of the fabric of our city, write to your councillor and demand access to the archive.
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